In the previous post, I wrote about the importance of declaring a major. This post will concentrate on how declaring a major will affect your college career.
It is okay if you are undeclared, you do not need to panic! But there are advantages to declaring a major sooner, rather than later. As a counselor, I see students on a regular basis to advise them on topics related to their pursuit of a college degree. The next few paragraphs will outline the impact declaring a major will have on your college career, from a counselor's perspective.
Chances are, that if you have seen a counselor here at your college, you have been exposed to the "ed plan", which refers to the process of a counselor going over a proposed plan to satisfy your general education (GE's) requirements for degree or transfer. Especially for students looking to transfer to a 4-year school, declaring your major will give you more focus and clarity of your class seletion going forward. Once your degree is chosen, your decision may impact which schools you consider transferring to. Every school is different, some schools may not offer the degree program you are interested in pursuing. Some schools have a "stronger" program than others in specific areas. Choosing your major may affect whether you transfer to a UC or a CSU. There are programs offered at CSU's that are not offered at UC's and vice versa. Instruction at UC's tend to be more research based, while degree programs at the CSU level tend to be more hands-on. This is avery important factor to consider, one that you can follow up on with a counselor here at Foothill.
If you have seen a counselor, you may know about www.assist.org. This is a very useful website that allows students access to specific admission requirements for each public school in California. Users are able to search or find majors that each school has available. For example, if you were interested in obtaining a BS in Biology, you can find which schools offer that degree. It will also break down specific specializations each school has. For example, Business Administration is a common area of study. But this is a broad scope of study, so often times schools will break this down into areas of specialization. Form the site, you can see which areas of specialization each school offers. You can see how this may be helpful in researching which schools offer programs that are of interest to you. Once you have selceted a specific school and degree program, you can tell the webiste which school you are transferring from to see what specific classes the 4-year university requires for admission into that major. In addition to the GE requirements, each school, and each major may have separate requirements to transfer under a specific major. Classes specified under this area are required in addition to your GE classes. You can see how it will be to your advantage to know the major prep classes, so that you may add these classes to your ed plan. Again, the sooner you can successfully declare a major, the easier it will be to set your education plan for your stay at school. You are less likely to take classes that are not necessary for your successful degree completion or transfer to another school.
Yes, it can be a bit intimidating to make major life choices, but remember how exciting it can be to really make decisions for YOURSELF. Remember that you will be the one studying, writing papers, and taking exams. It will be you that will graduate and look for a job in your chosen career. It is important that you take this process seriously, but also be thoughtful and aware of things that will hopefully bring you satisfaction. Once you have chosen your major, you may also find that you become a little more motivated, and your new sense of direction may help you achieve more in class.
The next pose will explore different resources to assist you in the process of choosing a major.
JV
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